Ep 213: Is making kids tidy up a part of Forest School?

In this episode, Lewis and Wem are joined by Justine from Curious and Kind Nature Play in Florida. The conversation began when all three spoke at a webinar hosted by Peter Gray and quickly turned into a shared curiosity around the tensions of tidying up in play-based education.

This is not a how-to guide. It is a rich exploration of roles, expectations, neurodivergence, community care, and the invisible moral weight we place on children when it comes to cleaning up. Whether you model tidying, mandate it, ignore it entirely, or wrestle with it daily, this episode invites you to reflect deeply on what your approach communicates about power, responsibility, and play.

🟩 Chapter timings

00:00 Welcome and pizza oven distractions

01:00 How Lewis and Justine connected

02:00 Justine introduces Curious and Kind Nature Play

05:00 Florida’s funding for home educators

06:30 Structures that support flexibility and autonomy

10:00 Opening the conversation on tidying

12:00 Justine’s approach to winding down and cleaning up

14:00 Community care and shared spaces

16:00 When tidying up becomes adult-directed

20:00 Individualism and shared responsibility

22:00 Executive function and play endings

25:00 Shifting roles as facilitators

27:00 Play residue and resource placement

30:00 Who defines tidy

33:00 Visual cues and neurodivergence

36:00 Long sessions and timing pressures

38:00 Tidying as moral pressure or community practice

40:00 Role of the facilitator and equity in expectations

43:00 The notice and do approach

48:00 When tidying inhibits play and creativity

50:00 Regret, repair, and adult reflection

53:00 Adult overwhelm and honest communication

59:00 Pine needles and closing thoughts

60:00 Where to find Justine and Curious and Kind